100 Days
by LinkLover123
Summary: "You have a hundred days to either escape or kill me. I'll let you decide."


A dark haired samurai sat under the grace of the moon, his glowing red eyes scanning the grassy plains. A chilling wind blew across this lonely landscape. Kyo wore a simple, black yukata that still allowed large strides as he walked next to his black stallion, giving it time to rest. His heavy samurai armor was tucked away in their wagon as he did not wish to lug it around day and night. The samurai and his band of wayward soldiers were traveling throughout Japan, picking off one battle after another. But they were in a current lag of their journey, so they chose to pose as simple travelers before they threw themselves into another bloody battlefield.

Akari was the first one to throw a fit, as expected of the most dramatic member of the Shiseiten. "We've been traveling through this blasted field for weeks!" She grabbed her staff, daring to do something, anything to rid the world of all this grass, which did nothing other than itch her calves and provide hiding places for horrendous bugs.

Thankfully, Bontenmaru was improving at managing his teammate's crankiness. "Look! We can rest the night over there." Although these were the strongest warriors in all the land, even they found themselves worn from all the travel. When they finally set up camp, the more vocal members sighed in relief, but their leader said nothing. Kyo did not believe in wasted energy on or off the battlefield, so he was never one to expand energy expression any kind of emotion, even exhaustion. He simply laid back against a tree and took a swig from the sake provision.

Bontenmaru sat on a log and rested his arms on his knees. He moved to lay his head on his palm and sighed. "Man, all this traveling has grown weary. Slaying our enemies one by one is fun and all, but no one ever talks about the weeks of traveling between one battle to the next. I wish we had a bit of entertainment."

Akari fanned herself, trying to do away with the suffocating humidity to no avail. "Have you tried looking at your reflection? I find your visage pretty entertaining."

Before Bontenmaru could offer a lame retort, the sound of horse hooves could be heard from a distance. The five grew silent, reaching for their weapons. Hotaru was the closest person to the possible threat and his body grew taut with anticipation. He had been itching for a fight these couple of days. Training with Akira had grown dull and predictable. A caravan that was filled to the brim with items slowly stopped before them. A short, plain-looking man greeted the group. "Hello, my fellow weary travelers. May I interest you in some goods?"

The merchant jumped down from his horse and opened the curtains of his caravan, revealing the treasures he'd accumulated across Japan. Art wood blocks, musical instrument fit for the royal court, strange candies—everything seemed to lie within the walls of this caravan. Akari, Hotaru, and Bontenmaru immediately took him up on his offer to look around. Everyone was simply too bored out of their minds and desperate for any kind of stimulation. Eventually, the over-friendly merchant struck a conversation with Bontenmaru. Not recognizing the deadlines of these travelers he had stumbled into, he eventually asked if he could set up camp with them. Luckily, Kyo could have not cared less and allowed the merchant as such.

The group began preparing for dinner and asked the merchant if he would like to join them. Bontemaru began roasting a boar Kyo had caught earlier in the day. Akira was the only one among the group with decent taste buds so seasoning was left to him. Hotaru helped with watching the pot and Both he and Akari would assist in cleaning the dishes afterwards.

The merchant rejoiced in the kindness of these strangers and offered a helping hand. He tugged against a golden rope attached to the back of the caravan. It was so thin and inconspicuous that none of the group had noticed it before. "Come out here and help them set out the plates." A golden pulse emanated from the rope and traveled from one end to the other.

A rustling was heard from the caravan. After a few moments, a figure could be seen stepping out from behind the caravan. The warriors had been surprised that they had not noticed this person's presence yet, but they had only trained to sense killing intent and little else. Perhaps this person had been sleeping before.

Out stepped the most beautiful woman the men had seen in forever. This mysterious girl had long blonde hair and emerald green eyes that she had kept glued to the ground. Her hands were held in front of her in nervousness. She was rather scantily clad for a woman of this age in strange, exotic clothes. Only her breasts and nether region hid behind a lush, pale green cloth. A long skirt was split at the sides, revealing her shapely legs. Her arms and midriff were left exposed to the cool night sky. She began dredging along the path as if she wished she could be anywhere else but in front of the gawking stare of men. Well, some men. Akira was blind, but he could tell by the shift in the air that the woman before them was rather spellbinding. Hotaru only ever had two things in his mind, swords and fighting with Kyo, so he didn't really pay the new girl much attention. Akari grew a bit jealous of her new rival, but found herself more focused on the golden rope connecting the merchant and the quiet girl, suspicious of the magic pulsing within it. Bontenmaru was the only one about to have a nosebleed, but he kept himself intact for the sake of the samurai code.

Kyo's reaction was stone face as he analyzed this girl. Nothing about this girl piqued his interest other than the fact that she was scantily clad, but then again, women constantly threw themselves at him, confusing fear with lust. She seemed like another taciturn and frail pushover as she handed everyone their dishes without a single complaint, not taking any for herself.

The mechant spoke once more, amused by the speechless reaction to the girl's presence. "I bought her last week from a village down south. The village was experiencing a terrible drought and most of their crops had failed. They were resorting to selling their own children. I stepped in, as gracious as I am, and offered a good price for their best girl. When they offered up this girl, I couldn't believe my eyes. She was a trained dancer at a school run by her brother. But when her brother was murdered some years ago, she was left orphaned and alone. Since she is a woman, none of her brother's property could go to her. She could have kept it if she had married someone, but she refused. She had no skill other than dancing, and we all know how well that can put food on the table. The starving villagers could not wait rid themselves of one more mouth to feed and sold her to me at a very fair price. But as a salesman, I bet I could make five times the amount by selling her at the market in Kyoto, so I put her in my best dancer clothes I procured from an oversea merchant."

As the merchant spoke, the woman grew very tense, like a snake about to spring at its target, spewing venom from its fangs. Akari's face soured, not liking this story one bit. She pointed at the golden rope connecting the two. "What is that, if I may ask?"

The merchant held up his wrist and gestured to the golden string. "Oh, this? It's a magical binding rope where the captured cannot escape my presence nor my commands. It cannot be cut or destroyed. The only way for it to transfer hands is either through my consent or death. I hadn't wanted to use it but this girl almost knocked me out cold and escaped the first time I tried to put her in my caravan."

Akari wished to impale this ugly merchant with her staff immediately but she knew that would be out of turn. The only one who could decide what to do was their leader, who had remained quiet and immobile throughout the entire story.

As the captive woman handed Kyo the last bowl of soup, their fingers brush. She jerked her hand back, feeling the danger that lurked beneath his fingertips.

The merchant did not like how the red-eyed man was eyeing his product. He jerked her back by the golden rope, relishing in humiliating her in front of these strangers. "Say your name," he commanded.

The girl's lips struggled like she was trying to keep them shut, but still she answered, "Shiina Yuya."

"Why don't you dance for us?" The merchant asked, although everyone knew there was no choice in the matter. She stood up shakily like a newborn fawn, but she moved as if a greater force was pushing her feet forward. Eventually, she tired of fighting back against such a thing. She took a deep breath and allowed her limbs to move with her memories. Although it was still through the order of the merchant, at least for a second, she could imagine she was free.

Her leg came up first, sticking high into the sky. She used the momentum to spin around gracefully, the shimmery, translucent cloth on her form trailed along with her like tendrils of light. The golden rope chaining her to her captor danced with her as she picked it up so she wouldn't trip. She incorporated this rope into her dance, spinning it around her form, but never getting tangled within it. She danced as if gravity did not exist in her near vicinity. It was almost as if she was flying.

The merchant smirked at the enchanted expressions in these travelers, proud that the girl was evoking such a reaction. Wanting to step it up a notch, the man commanded the girl to sing. Her melancholic song was one of beauty despite its morose notes. Kyo sat there mesmerized along with the rest of the group, although he did not show it. Her dancing form was enchanting under the moonlight, and her lovely voice could drown someone if they weren't careful. She sang a morbid tale of a girl drowning in a lake, chasing the reflection of the moon. The song sparked a hint of nostalgia inside Kyo, feeling like he heard it before long in his childhood, but that would be impossible. He grew within the confined walls of the Mibu clan and she was a mere outsider.

As the song came to a close, the group was lulled to a sleepy haze, their body satiated with food and joy of such a beautiful performance. Yuya never let go of the golden rope. With everyone distracted, she whipped it into the air and circled the merchant, wrapping her chain around his neck several times. She jumped high in the air, twisting her body to tighten the rope around the man's thin neck. Faster than the eye could see, she snapped the merchant's neck without mercy. Immediately, the golden chain around her wrist dissipated, leaving a stinging, red mark. But it was too soon to rejoice. Yuya could tell from the weapons that these warriors kept at their sides that they were not to be trifled with. Especially the one with the demonic red eyes. She felt like she had been stabbed herself when she had touched him and had a glimpse of his bloodlust. But she would leave them in the dust soon enough or die trying.

Yuya leapt onto the horse nearest her, which was a big, black stallion fit for a god of death. She had no other choice since the merchant's horse was intricately tied to the caravan. There was no time to waste in her pursuit of freedom. She kicked the horse with her heel, commanding it to ride under the cover of darkness. As the wind rushed through her form, a smile stretched across her beautiful face as she tasted freedom for the first time in forever. She was free from that wretched merchant. She was free from the misogynist village that so willingly discard her.

Shiina Yuya was free to be whoever she wished to be.

The Shiseiten was ready to pursue the suddenly made fugitive, but the dark aura of their leader behind them stopped them in their tracks. Kyo was filled with absolute exhilaration. This was the first time in weeks he felt any challenge. How had this girl manage to appear as meek as a nightingale despite her murderous rage at her capturer? Perhaps that golden chain had forced her true intent beneath the surface as she had no other choice but to obey him. But the absolute ingenuity of masking her master's elaborate murder while performing a command? Astounding.

"Wait!" He commanded his awaiting soldiers. "She's _mine."_ He would award his prey with a bit more time to escape. It would make the chase a tad more fun, despite the fact that he knew the ending. But as the memory of the girl's jubilant face at her first taste of freedom, Kyo could not bear to wait another second. He started running on foot, closing the distance between him and the girl on horseback as his speed rivaled a cheetah.

Soon enough, Yuya could feel the killing intent closing in on her. She broke out in a cold sweat as she whipped the reins of the horse, desperately commanding the stallion to increase its speed. But the steed was no match for its master. Before it could even finish a gallop, the red-eyed demon warrior was in front of his steed. The horse was spooked by its master's killer aura and raised itself on its hind legs, throwing Yuya onto the ground. Her fall was cushioned by the tall grass before her, but she still groaned as her back absorbed much of the impact. Kyo only so much looked at the horse and it ran away back in the direction of the camp.

In the next second, Kyo held his sword to Yuya, its sharp blade kissing her delicate throat. If he so much as flexed, it would be over for the enchanting dancer. Yuya's emerald eyes stared into Kyo's ruby ones as they burned in the moonlight. His demonic aura was about to consume her alive, yet still she refused to back down. She had nothing left to lose.

"What are you waiting for? Are you going to kill me or let me go?" Yuya challenged Kyo as if she had the upper hand. His large form encompassed her with a burning heat as his long black hair fell like curtains around her pretty face. His legs were on either side of her hips, trapping her legs from making any movement. She was helplessly ensnared within his hold. The smirk on the demon warrior's face stretched a little higher.

"I'm not going to be your slave," Yuya continued in the space of his silence.

Kyo chuckled at that, not used to being challenged on the battlefield, which this clearly was despite her weapon only being her wit. "What makes you think you wouldn't make a good slave?"

"BECAUSE I'M BETTER THAN THAT!" Yuya screamed with her whole body, her chest heaving. The blade drew a line of blood from her neck, yet still she did not waver, adrenaline shielding her from the pain. Years of frustration and suffering ate away any sort of self-preservation. She would _never _be trapped again. Most people would have begged for mercy under the weight of Kyo's demon eyes, but not Yuya.

"I will find my brother's killer and make him taste the pain I've felt all these years. I must find the man with the red cross on his back or die trying!" Yuya grew stronger with every word she spat out, her passion and lust for revenge growing all the more. Her unmarred palms came to the sword, pushing against the blade. Blood began seeping from the biting cut, trickling down her arms, but still she did not care. Pain pulsated from her palms, but this was nothing to what she felt when she lost her brother.

Kyo's eyes grew wide in surprise, recognizing the symbol she spoke of and laughed. Looked like he had more in common with this girl after all. The sensation of only revenge and bloodlust coursing through your tired veins was something he was most familiar with. He immediately drew the sword back, flicking her fresh blood away. He stuck the sword in the ground to free his hand. The warrior grabbed each of her wrists and brought it to his mouth as if to kiss them. Instead he licked her open wound.

"What are you doing?" Yuya had the decency to blush, confused by the sudden change in mood. Suddenly, a warm light pulsated from her palms and her wounds closed. Kyo lowered his lips onto her neck, licking a long stripe across her throat, healing the small cut. When he rose back up, he smirked at her blushing, angry face.

"Congratulations, you're the second woman I haven't slain."

Yuya was flabbergasted at such a declaration. Should she somehow be honored by such a trivial title? But judging by the man's killer aura, she knew it was a title that should not be taken lightly as he could take it away at any second.

"I'll give you a hundred days."

The blonde scrunched her eyebrows in confusion. "To what?"

"To either kill me or escape me. Take your pick. If within that time, you manage to elude me for more than five days, since I doubt you'll succeed in the former, I'll tell you the name of your brother's killer."

Yuya's eyes widened in shock. "How could you possibly know that?!"

"You can either choose to believe me or not. But I bet I'm the first clue you've found."

Yuya bit her lip in frustration, and Kyo had to fight the need to bite her plump lips for her. It was true though. She had spent so long mourning her brother's death and trying to keep his memory alive that she never found it in herself to look for her brother's killer until she had lost absolutely everything. She could do nothing but nod and accept the terms of agreement.

How did her fate become tied with this _demon?_

—

Yuya woke up bathed in warmth. Too warm. She jolted awake and found that demon of a man next to her side. The woman was inside a small tent, lying next to the still slumbering demon-eyed samurai. She inwardly lamented the fact that she would never be able to get married now, even though all she did was lie next to him.

The dancer tried to remember how she would ever land in such a precarious situation. She remembered taking his deal, but not a second after she had agreed, she tried to make a mad dash for it. Immediately, that bastard had knocked her out with a swift hit on the back of her neck. He must have carried her back to the camp and lain with her.

Yuya thought about her options now that she realized she had awoken before the slumbering demon. Currently she had no weapon of her own, though the man's sword was lying next to him. However, it was so long that she knew he would have awoken by the time she drew it. This left her the only option of quietly sneaking out of the tent. She got on her knees since the tent's overhead was a bit too low to stand to her full height. She quietly crawled to the opening of the tent.

Suddenly, she was dragged back to the demon samurai's chest by her ankle. Now she laid underneath the relentless grasp of this smug man, smirking down at her. What a terrible way to wake up in the morning. He pinned her small wrists in one hand above her head.

"You'd be terrible at espionage, making such a racket that the dead could wake up."

Yuya did not like the fact that he held her so tightly in his grasp again. Did not like it one bit. She felt his free hand slither up the side of her exposed midriff and she squirmed at his heated touch.

"What are you _doing?"_ She squeaked, not understanding this foreign invasion on her soft skin.

"Well, I should be rewarded for thwarting you once more, or else the game would grow boring for me."

"This _wasn't_ in our original agreement."

"Consider it an added clause," Kyo amended as his fingers slipped underneath the poor excuse she called a bra. He palmed the girl's breast, feeling for its size and weight. It sat nicely in his large palm, but it could grow a bit more. Yuya squirmed more vigorously this time, shocked by his wandering hand. His fingers came to roll her hardening bud between them and Kyo relished in the fact that he finally got this noisy girl to shut up. Yuya's breathing hitched as she tried to say something, anything to prevent the bastard's ego from inflating any more.

"Kyo! Stop playing around with your new pet and get your ass up! We need to keep going!" A domineering, feminine voice called through the tent. The demon eyed samurai tsked like a petulant child and gave Yuya's breasts one last squeeze before he left the tent with his sword.

Yuya pressed her palms into her eyes, inwardly screaming. Ninety-nine days left to kill this demonic bastard.


End file.
